P3S lost signal, but RTH doesn't seem to kick in.

[wayne hebb]

I am relatively new and basically flew just a bit out of range. Actually I live in the Appalachian Mountains and I just flew around a stand of trees where I was just out of sight. Anyway, I lost signal and it seemed like it was just hoovering so I pressed the RTH button on the app. I got a message that said RTH failed... It wasn't too far away so, I just walked up the street until the remote regained a connection and flew it home myself...

My question is this... Did I mess up the RTH function by pressing the RTH button on the DJI Go app?? I know for a fact my home point was set and the RTH height was plenty high enough. Did I just not wait long enough for the RTH to kick in?? Of do I need to be in F-GPS or P-GPS??

Another time,I pressed the RTH button on the DJI Go app and it just came strait home.. It did not climb to the 40 meters it is set at... I am careful to fly with plenty of height since I am new, but I still want it to work right...

Thank you all!!

 

[msinger]

RTH should automatically initiate 3 seconds after the remote controller signal is lost. At that point, you will not be able to manually initiate RTH in the DJI GO app or via the S2 switch on the remote controller.

If you changed the "Remote Controller Signal Lost" setting to "Hover", then that would explain why you're Phantom continued to hover instead of coming back to the home point.

If that's not the case, then perhaps it was ascending to the RTH altitude. It's sometimes hard to see that it's ascending.

 

[WilliamM]

As msinger already touched on some of the key points, I'll just on this. The reason you properly got the RTH failed message was since you've lost contact with the AC, the RTH via your device wouldn't have contact either. I have myself found that the S2 switch seems to work when the device RTH does not. And like msinger said, you need to wait for a full three seconds to pass before seeing the drone start the RTH, which might be just going up to altitude at first. Also make sure you check the RTH setting (Remote Controller Signal Lost setting) every time before starting your flight is set to return home.

 

[wayne hebb]

It is very possible that I was just impatient and didn't wait for it to happen. I just got nervous when I lost connection because I did not want to crash. I wasn't far from my home point so I was able to just walk until i reestablished a connection. Then I was able to resume control.

I checked all the settings when I first turned it on after I purchased and it was on the RTH option. I did not check before each flight, because I thought it was the default setting. I guess I should quickly run through those options before take off. I have not crashed or anything so, I guess I am lucky. I watch not to go too far and I had a less expensive drone and had quite a bit of practice flying in attitude mode because it did not have GPS...

 

[WilliamM]

It is very possible that I was just impatient and didn't wait for it to happen. I just got nervous when I lost connection because I did not want to crash. I wasn't far from my home point so I was able to just walk until i reestablished a connection. Then I was able to resume control.

I checked all the settings when I first turned it on after I purchased and it was on the RTH option. I did not check before each flight, because I thought it was the default setting. I guess I should quickly run through those options before take off. I have not crashed or anything so, I guess I am lucky. I watch not to go too far and I had a less expensive drone and had quite a bit of practice flying in attitude mode because it did not have GPS...

It's a very good habit to check the important settings before every flight. RTH mode, RTH height, if Smart RTH is on, at the very least. Here's a check list for you.

 

[Zorro54]

Sent from my SM-G900V using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[wayne hebb]

Thanks to everyone. This forum is great!! I did a very basic preflight check,but nothing like the checklist above. I guess it pays to be careful and I am sure after doing it a few times, it will go fast... I initiated the RTH command today using the app and when the battery got too low. I was close to home when I did it, I just wanted to see how it works so I can trust it. I still do not believe it is time to push the range, but at least I trust that it will worked as it is supposed to.